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Biomedical physiology > Week 6: The nervous system (sensory transduction and CNS) > Flashcards

Week 6: The nervous system (sensory transduction and CNS) Flashcards

1
Q

What is signal transduction?

A

The conversion of environmental factors into neural information (i.e. action potentials).

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2
Q

What is mechanoreception?

A

pressure, body position, sound, acceleration, and gravity (e.g. Pacinian corpuscles, muscle spindles, hair cells in: the organ of Corti, semicircular canals, the utricle and saccule)

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3
Q

What is thermoreception?

A

temperature (e.g. free nerve endings in skin and core temp sensors in hypothalamus)

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4
Q

What is photoreception

A

electromagnetic waves (e.g. rod and cone cells)

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5
Q

What is chemoreception?

A

specific materials / molecules (e.g. olfactory receptors in your nose, and gustatory receptors such as taste buds)

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6
Q

What is nociception?

A

cellular damage (e.g. NK1 receptor for Substance P)

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7
Q

What is another word for the afferent neuron?

A

Sensory neuron

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8
Q

Describe the effect of stretch on the Pacinian corpuscle

A

Lamellar corpuscles (a.k.a. Pacinian corpuscles) are dendrites that are surrounded by layers (lamellae) of connective tissue.

When these are distorted by a physical pressure gradient, the dendrite membrane stretches, which opens special sodium ion channels.

Once sodium rushes in, it opens voltage-gated ion channels and the signal travels down the myelinated part of the dendrite to the soma and axon hillock. It may then trigger an AP down the axon.

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9
Q

What is an example of direct stimulation of sensory neuronss

A

Pacinian corpuscles and muscle spindles

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10
Q

What is the receptor potential

A

The magnitude of depolarisation of the membrane

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11
Q

Describe how sound is transduced?

A

Pressure waves (compressions in the medium surrounding your head) are transmitted into the fluid in the vestibular duct.

These waves vibrate the connective tissue fibres in the tectorial membrane when they match resonant frequency of the fibres. The membrane is bathed in an area of high potassium, ion concentration.

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12
Q

Describe how action potentials are created in hair cells

A
  • They are modified epithelial cells.
  • Cilia project from the apical side.
  • The tallest cilium in each cell is the kinocilium and it is linked to the stereocilia.
  • When the kinocilium is bent away from the stereocilia, K+ channels open.
  • When it is bent toward the stereocilia, the channels close.
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13
Q

Give an example of indirect stimulus of neurons

A

Hair cells in the epithelium (epithelial sensory receptor cells)

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14
Q

What are the 4 types of information the sensory receptors and neurons must encode?

A
  1. Stimulus modality
  2. Stimulus location
  3. Stimulus intensity
  4. Stimulus duration
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15
Q

What is a stimulus modality

A

A sensory modality (also called a stimulus modality) is an aspect of a stimulus or what is perceived after a stimulus. How the receptor can differentiate between different types of touch for example
E.g. both Meissner’s corpuscle and Merkel discs are used to differentiate between fine touch

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15
Q

What is a stimulus modality

A

A sensory modality (also called a stimulus modality) is an aspect of a stimulus or what is perceived after a stimulus. How the receptor can differentiate between different types of touch for example
E.g. both Meissner’s corpuscle and Merkel discs are used to differentiate between fine touch

16
Q

How is a stimulus location determined?

A

By the integrating information from several cells (e.g. the brain)

17
Q

What is meant by a tonic receptor?

A

A receptor that adapts slowly
e.g. Meissner’s corpuscle - they are good at distinguishing size and shape of an object

18
Q

What is meant by a phasic receptor?

A

Receptor that quickly adapts
e.g. Merkel discs are good at distinguishing texture of objects

19
Q

What are the roles of glial cells?

A

They surround neurons and hold them in place (structural support)
They supply nutrients and oxygen to neurons (neuroglobin)
They insulate neurons from each other
They destroy pathogens and remove dead neurons (meningitis)

20
Q

Name the types of glial cells in the CNS

A

Ependymal cells
Oligodendrocytes
Microglia
Astrocytes

21
Q

Name the types of glia in the PNS

A

Satellite cells
Schwann cells

22
Q

What is the function of oligodendrocytes in the CNS?

A

have a similar role to Schwann cells, but in the central nervous system

23
Q

What is the function of astrocytes?

A

Transport nutrients

24
Q

What is the function of microglia?

A

Remove debris and dead cells

25
Q

What is the function of ependymal cells?

A

line fluid-filled cavities of the central nervous system.

26
Q

What is the function of the medulla?

A

integrates lots of afferent signals but, also, has centres that regulate breathing and heartrate

27
Q

What is the main function of the frontal lobe?

A

Involved in higher mental functions:
Planning, such as recognising future consequences from current actions
Suppresses unacceptable social responses
Determine similarities between things or events in memory

28
Q

What is the main function of the parietal lobe

A

Associated with ability to interpret sensations from visual stimuli

29
Q

Damage or development issues in the parietal lobe can lead to?

A

Visual agnosia – not able to process visual information
Auditory agnosia
Tactile agnosia

30
Q

Where is the primary sensory cortex located?

A

In the postcentral gyrus

31
Q

Where do the sensations of the optic nerve go?

A

Into the occipital lobe

32
Q

What functions are associated with the temporal lobe?

A

Smell
Sound
Processing complex stimuli

Associated with memory.
Visual memories
Processing sensory input
Spatial memory
Language
New memories

33
Q

Describe the actions of the impulse when a key is placed in somebodies left visual field

A

The retinal cells detect the object and activate the right visual cortex. The activation of the right visual cortex excites the corpus callosum fibres, which transmit the visual information to the left hemisphere, where its verbal content is analysed and language is produced

34
Q

When a key is held in the left field of view in front of a patients with a damaged corpus callosum, what would they see?

A

The stimuli from the left visual field reaches the right-hemisphere visual cortex.
But the split corpus callosum prevents the visual information from getting to the right hemisphere to the language areas. So verbal response to the stimuli is impossible

35
Q

Why is it that if you place an object in the right visual field in a split brain patient, they can see and describe the object but not in the left visual field?

A

Because the interhemispheric transfer is not required

36
Q

Name the different types of brain imaging

A

X-ray, MRA, MRI, CT, PET scan, fMRI

37
Q

How do you measure the electrical activity in someone’s brain?

A

Using an EEG

Biomedical physiology (3 decks)

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